


The Spice of Life

by Memi2501, TheBlazeCal



Series: Taskpool [1]
Category: Deadpool - All Media Types, Taskmaster - Marvel
Genre: Alpha!Tony, Cable is an asshole, M/M, Minor Matt Murdock/Foggy Nelson, Non-powered AU, Omegaverse, but what's new?, omega!Wade, other characters will be tagged as they appear
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-22
Updated: 2017-06-10
Packaged: 2018-08-16 18:55:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8113693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Memi2501/pseuds/Memi2501, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBlazeCal/pseuds/TheBlazeCal
Summary: It's Spice Girls night at Weasel's bar.Chance encounters?





	1. Bark me up

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheBlazeCal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBlazeCal/gifts).



It was his brother's fault Wade was wearing the frilly black dress and the sneakers that night. Winston had said he rocked it that it made his eyes look brighter. And he was damn right. The silky dress fit him like a glove and swirled around him every time he turned or twisted his hips. Besides, it covered the scars on his chest without the roughness he often felt with other clothes he wore. 

“Should anything happen, remember Weasel is working today,” Winston warned him as he parked in front of the bar. “Try not to get kicked out. Again.”

“It was  _ not _ my fault,” Wade protested. “Being an Alpha didn't give her the right to harass any Omega. Thanks for driving me here, Zenny. Have a fun night with Shiklah,” he said before getting out of the car. Shiklah rubbed Wade the wrong way. She was manipulative and always treated his brother like a toy Omega. Wade hated seeing her play with his brother but Winston was as stubborn as him. 

He waved at his brother and entered the bar, where an explosion of smoke, sweat and the scents of dozens of Alphas and Omegas invaded his nose and the pop music boomed out of the speakers. It was Spice Girls night, meaning there would be pop music playing and karaoke and dancing competitions all night long.

He walked straight to the bar and took a seat right in the middle, his legs dangling as he waited for the bartender to finish serving some customers. Weasel was an old friend of him and Zenny who decided to open a bar after he was not elected for a scholarship back in college. He was slender for an Alpha but, as Wade had verified a couple of times in the past, knew how to knock out a person with just one punch. Once he saw Wade, he adjusted his glasses and stood in front of the before greeting him. 

“Long time no see, Wade. What can I get you?”

“I'd love a screaming orgasm right now.” Wade put some bills on the counter and wiggled his eyebrows at the taller man, who groaned.

“... on your back?” Weasel sighed, defeated. When Wade nodded, he took a glass from under the counter and a bottle of Bailey’s, one of Amaretto, a shot of cream and one more bottle, Kahlúa. He mixed them with practised ease while glared at the man in dress resting his chin on both hands and giggling to himself. “I really hate you, Wade,” he deadpanned as he cut a cherry and placed it on one side of the glass, “Here’s your orgasm. Please don’t make me do this again.” Weasel put the glass in front of Wade and went to serve a beer to another customer. Wade sipped at his cocktail and looked around the place. People swarmed across the place, dancing to the beats and chatting amongst them. “Oh, yeah.” Weasel returned a few seconds after. “Almost forgot. The boss wants to make a poll so, who’s your favourite Spice?” He asked, a notebook in hand.

“What your boss wants is to cause a massacre,” Wade chuckled. “Besides, we all know that the best of them is Baby Spice.”

The man beside him, the one who had ordered the beer, scoffed, “Yeah, right.”

Wade raised a would-be eyebrow. “Something funny, sugarbuns?”

The man turned on his seat and Wade took a good look at him. The brunet was tall and slender despite his broad shoulders and firm thighs. His hazel eyes glistened with amusement and just a little bit of irritation. He wore a dark blue shirt and black jeans that, Wade noted, fit him in all the right places.

“As a matter of fact, yes.” His voice was deep, alluring and Wade noted a distinctive Bronx accent in the way the man pronounced some of his words. “Baby Spice may be the cutest of them all, but Scary Spice is the  _ best _ ,” the man said nonchalantly and began exposing his arguments on why Melanie Janine Brown was the absolute best of the group which included being a feminist icon and not ever being afraid to say what was on her mind. He smiled proudly at Wade, having proven his point.

“Aww, you sound like a true groupie. Bet you have your wall covered in posters!” Wade cooed over. The brunet’s cheeks turned a slight shade of pink and the grip on his beer tightened. “That would be kinda creepy, actually so I think all of your arguments are invalid. Baby Spice is still the best.” Wade gulped down the rest of his drink and jumped off the stool, preparing to go somewhere else.

“Hey!” Wade heard the man call after him and, without looking back, he waved at him. He disappeared among the crowd before the taller man could get ahold of him. Wade had to admit the brunet intrigued him. He was clearly an Alpha, his strong and spicy, all the puns intended, scent reeked of power and authority but, as he talked, not once did he try to touch or grab Wade. And he appreciated it.

For the rest of the night, Wade danced and twirled around. He flirted with a couple of Alphas that were harassing a pair of female Omegas until they left and accepted the girls offer of buying him a drink. They chatted and giggled, danced and complimented each other’s dresses and danced until they had to go. Wade accompanied them to the exit and waved at them when they got into the taxi. He slowly made his way to the bar again, where he asked Weasel for another drink with an accordingly lewd and inappropriate name and sat in the same stool as before. Weasel prepared the cocktail with an almost pained expression on his face.

This time, Wade decided to drink it slowly, just enjoying the music and watching people dancing. The Spice Girls were long gone, now techno music poured out of the speakers.

Suddenly, as he was sipping at his blue drink, a hand was placed on his shoulder and a figure opened its way through the drunk crowd. Wade turned just in time to see the brunet coming to a stop when he reached Wade's side.

“You ran away,” he said. 

“I prefer the term ‘tactical retreat’ because it's always better to leave the game when you are winning and all that crap they tell you, y’know?” Wade rested his chin on his hand and batted his ‘eyelashes’ at the Alpha. “You were following me around this entire time? I  _ knew _ you were a creep!”

Even in the dim lights, Wade could note the other man’s cheeks getting redder and hastily dropping the hand on Wade's shoulder to his side. “M’not a creep.” Wade chuckled. This was the most interesting Alpha he had ever met.

He extended his free hand and introduced himself with a grin,  “Wade.”

The brunet looked at him cautiously before shaking it. “Tony,” he said.

  
  


Tony let Wade's hand go and stood there in a somewhat awkward silence for a while, as if just having realised he had absolutely no idea what to say or do. After their conversation, when Wade had left him with the words on the tip of his tongue, he had been looking for the scarred man but every time Tony saw him, he would be gone by the time he approached. He had also seen him defend the Omega girls from those assholes and a wave of respect and admiration crashed in Tony's chest. When he finally found him at the bar, he followed his instinct and made his way across the people waiting for their drinks and placed a hand on the man's shoulder. 

_ Wade _ . 

He had gotten his name, but now was at a loss for words. His brain was working a mile a minute, trying to find a conversation topic.

“So… You look like someone who can throw a mean punch?”

“Smooth,” Wade snorted, mostly out of confusion. “Are you asking me or telling me?”

“Your build makes me think that you are pretty strong and-”

“Did you just call me  _ fat _ ?” Wade feigned offence as he put a hand to his chest and shot Tony a scandalized look. He bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing at the lost look the Alpha before him had on his face.

“Dunno ‘bout fat but ye sure are an ugly freak,” a slurred voice said as a stumbling figure came to a stop in front of them. His eyes that hid behind the haze of alcohol were shining with disgust as he looked up and down Wade’s body. On the other side of the bar, Weasel groaned a curse and took out his phone, sending a quick message. The strong scent of Alph mixed with cheap cologne and booze invaded Wade’s nose and he turned his head to the side, disgusted. “Ye ain’t foolin’ nobody with that dress, Kreuger,” the Alpha’s mocking laugh roared above the music. Wade fidgeted uncomfortably and tried to scurry away from the man, but he was grabbed by the arm and turned to face him. He was a foot taller than Wade but less bulky. “I wasn’t finished with ye,” he slurred.

Before he could say anything else, the drunk felt someone grabbing him by the back of the collar of his shirt and yanking him off the Omega with such force he felt himself out of air. He fell to the dirty floor with a  _ thud _ and the vision of the scarred man was blocked by a bulky figure. “You stay the fuck away from him,” Tony growled. “Who gave you the right to touch him without his consent?” 

“That yer scarred freak?” The other Alpha struggled to get on his feet and look menacingly at Tony before sniffing the air. “He doesn’t smell mated so waddya care? He’s just an Omega. He should be  _ grateful _ someone dared touchi-”

He never finished his sentence because Tony’s fist had connected with his chin. The Alpha stumbled backwards and barely had time to register what was happening before Tony landed a kick to his stomach, sucking every last bit of air from him as he fell to his knees, unable to even gasp for air. Tony punched and kicked the Alpha with such speed the man had no chance of defending himself -not that Tony would let him. If there was one thing he did not tolerate was Alphas abusing their status and making other feel inferior.  _ Much less _ with things people could not change about themselves. So the Alpha continued receiving blow after blow from the furious brunet.

A circle had formed around them, the crowd cheered Tony. Most of them knew Wade up to some point. Was Wade obnoxious and loud? Yes. Did Wade annoy the crap out of most of them? Every single time he bursted through the door. Had they grown fond of him with time? Of course. Were they going to stop Tony from beating the living shit out of the asshole? Abso-fucking-lutely  _ not _ . 

“You better start respecting any Omega who’s willing to even share the same room as you or next time me foot connects with your balls,” Tony snarled. He raised his bloodied fist one more time when he felt a hand gently grabbing his arm. He turned to show his fangs to whoever tried to stop him but he met with a pair of deep blue eyes staring right at his golden-brown ones and a deep, musky scent of dark soil reached him. Wade smelled like forests and outdoors, of hidden clearings behind waterfalls. In his whole life, Tony had never met anyone with such a scent before. “You have already defended my honour, sugar.”

He lowered his fist ever so slightly, mesmerized by the Omega beside him and looked down to see that Weasel was already kneeling next to the drunk Alpha as some of the clients opened the emergency door to let the paramedics with the stretcher inside. They placed the fainted man in top of it and asked Weasel a few questions and they may or may not have snickered at the stupidity of the wounded man. They took him away and the place filled with chatter again, as if nothing had happened.

Wade, who was still holding Tony’s arm, sighed and guided him to the bar, where he made the Alpha sit on the stool he had previously been sitting on and walked around the bar and rummaged under the counter with familiarity before emerging with a first-aid kit. He took some gauze, bandages and disinfectant before putting the box back where it belonged and, once again, turned around the counter to  sit in front of his knight in casual armour. He took the gauze and poured some disinfectant on them before taking Tony’s hand and gently tapping across his skin.

The stinging made Tony snap out of his slight berserk status and focused on the man tending to his wounds. He tried to snatch his hand away but Wade’s grip tightened around his fingers. “I can do it myself. You don’t have to feel obligated to-”

“Zip it,” Wade interrupted without looking up. Under no circumstances was Wade going to let the Alpha see his blush. He was flattered that someone had stood up for him the way the brunet did. He cleaned the raw knuckles and heavily bandaged his hand. He kissed each of them and smirked smugly at the sight of the flustered Alpha. “There. I kissed it better.” He got up, dusted his dress off and flashed a cheeky grin. “Thanks for being such a protective guard dog, Fido.” He saluted and ran off, leaving a very confused and annoyed Tony. “ _ Did he just call me  _ Fido _?! _ ”

“I’m surprised you didn’t tear his arm off,” Weasel was back at his usual spot behind the bar. He placed a chopp of draft beer in front of Tony. “The first time you got into a fight here, you almost bit the bouncer’s hand off when he tried to calm you down.

“And I’m surprised you didn’t use the bucket. You seem fond of it.” Tony sipped at his beer. The first time he beat an Alpha to a pulp was during his job as a bouncer. This small female Omega had told an Alpha ‘no’ four times and the douchebag had dared to lift her skirt. He lost four or five teeth and Tony had a bruise on his eye for a little more than a week.

After that, Tony became a sort of peacebringer at the club. He was one of the few Alphas that would stand against his own in order to protect the Omegas. Still, every once in awhile, Tony would have to  _ gently remind _ an Alpha of that and Weasel would drop a bucket of cold water on him to make him stop. Said bucket was renamed “Tony’s bucket” and would stay under the counter every time Tony was working… “Just in case.” Weasel would say.

“I was about to break my record, wasn’t I?” Tony asked making reference to the sign behind the bar that read:

 

“ 13 0 weekends without Tony beating someone”

 

“You broke it, actually. The beer’s on the house. Drink it and go home, Tony.” Weasel dismissed him for the night. Tony finished his beer and hailed a cab to take him back to his house. When he took his wallet out to pay the driver, he heard a rustling sound that came from the bandages on his hand and frowned. He paid the driver and entered his house. He made sure he locked each of the sour locks on his door and that every window was secured before going into the bathroom and grabbing his first-aid kit and change the bandages, even though he had not have them on for more than an hour.

He cut the bandages with pair of scissors and a folded piece of paper fell into the sink. Tony picked it up and opened it, there was a series of numbers scribbled with what seemed crayons.

 

_ bark me up, Fido ;) _

_ xxxx-xxxx _

_ -Wade _

 

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to count to ten. He was  _ not _ expecting that. He stared at the piece of paper for a few moments, debating whether or not he should just throw it away. It was the first time an Omega had made such a bold move on him. Normally, they would just buy him a drink and thank him. Not give him their number. And most certainly  _ not  _ call him a dog. He confessed to himself that he was intrigued -“ _ And Wade’s scent… Gods, _ ” a little voice in the back of his head sighed - but he was not sure he could text the Omega back. Or at all.

He still added Wade to his phone contacts.

But that meant nothing.


	2. Fido

Tony did not sent Wade a text the next day, or the day after that one. Nor any day for the next three and a half months after that night at the bar. He did not know what to say to the Omega. He wrote a simple text a few times but he always deleted whatever he typed.

He never deleted Wade’s number from his phone. He could not bring himself to do it, but he could not write to him either. Tony was acting like a prick, but he just was really anxious at the thought of starting talking to the other man, and the possible implications of doing so. So he just did nothing.

The few times he had worked at the bar, Wade was not there, but had asked for him, according to Weasel and Tony felt a pang of guilt bubbling in his chest each time. He punched a few asshole Alphas and when someone tried to stop him, Tony elbowed him in the stomach hard enough to make the poor guy lose his air for a moment.

Weasel had to use the bucket each time.

“Look, Tony, just text him. Every time he comes, he mopes and I can’t take it anymore.” Weasel whined one night, four months after meeting the Omega. “Do it for me? Help a pal out.” Tony did not reply. Instead, he just drank his fourth beer that night. His mind was getting hazy but he did not refuse Weasel as he kept pouring him glass after glass.

Alcohol was helping him to not think about complicated things he did not want to think about. And especially, not about a certain Omega who was inexplicably insistent with getting in touch with him.

The one who was most certainly not helping was Weasel who, with each glass of beer he poured for Tony, kept telling him to just send Wade a goddamned text. Tony growled. He did not like being ordered around. He was an Alpha not some…

Tony’s head shot right up as a thought crossed his clouded head and, as he growled “Fuck it.” and mumbled angry, empty threats to Weasel, he took out his phone.

 

****

 

“Stop it, Wade.” Winston placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder as he rummaged through his wardrobe, looking for something to wear that night. Winston was worried because, ever since his brother came back from the club, he had been fawning over some Alpha he had met there and how he stood up for him and, honestly, it was endearing at first, watching Wade crush so hard on someone. But as the days passed and he received no texts from the brunet, he slowly started to sulk. He thought that maybe the piece of paper had fallen off before Tony could have seen it, or the crayon had smeared and the numbers became unreadable, or…

The scenarios ran through his mind and he got gloomier each day while Winston grew more and more worried. Wade started going to the club almost every weekend in hopes of seeing this man again, he wanted nothing more than meeting him again.

Winston tried to stop him on more than one occasion. Sometimes, he succeeded. But others, looking at Wade’s face, so full of hope, Winston could not bring himself to retain him. But each night, Winston would see his brother coming through the door with a dark face. And that routine kept repeating week after week.

Winston had to draw a line that night. Wade’s behaviour was becoming unhealthy.

“You can’t keep going to that place, Wade.”

Wade shook the hand off his shoulder and glared at his twin, “I need to, Zenny. He might be there tonight,” he explained and turned once more to the closet. This time, he chose a pair of black skinny jeans and a dark red shirt instead of a dress.

“Or he might not and you are getting your hopes up for nothing, Wade,” Winston replied bluntly. He knew he was hurting Wade, but he needed to understand that it was not good for him. “You have been pining over this Tony guy for the last four months and going to the club and leaving messages for him through Weasel and overall just wishing upon a star for him to text you. _Please_. Stop, now.”

Wade clenched his jaw and tightened the grip on his clothes as he felt his heart drop in his chest. He bit the inside of his cheek in order not to snap at his brother despite how much he wanted to. He also wanted to break his nose. Because it hurt. It hurt how much his twin’s voice resembled the little voices in the back of his mind he ignored most of the time. Winston was voicing Wade’s deepest fears concerning the Alpha.

Instead, he just snarled and threw him out of his room. He sat on his bed and screamed into a pillow. He could hear his blood rushing through his ears as his anger mixed with his anguish. He did not go to the club nor he got out of his room to have dinner and he ignored his brother when he knocked at his door and apologised with a pained voice.

He just let his self-loathing swallow and drag him into a spiral of deep pity and dark thoughts for the next couple of hours while he looked at the ceiling.

Maybe his brother was right. Maybe his voices were right. Maybe he had overanalyzed everything that happened that night and was only bothering the other man. Maybe the drunktard had been right. He was a freak. He was too bulky to be an Omega. He was not small nor cute and he was scarred because he had once tried to be more than what his genetics told him. Maybe he was just unworthy of having a mate…

“ _At least outside of dating sims and self-insert fanfiction,_ ” he thought sarcastically as he reached for his phone. It was a little after midnight when he opened one of his games and played idly for a while, trying to make himself believe he was the prettiest person in the world for someone. In these games, he could buy all the dresses he wanted and would look amazing on him while some pretty Alpha -lately, he would always choose the brunet one- would court him and tell him sappy shit no one would say in the real world, ever.

Just as Wade was about to finally have his chosen Alpha confess his feelings, his phone vibrated and a new text notification popped up on the screen. Wade frowned, because it was the default tone and not one of the personalised ringtones he chose for each of his contacts, and, not recognizing the number on the screen, he clicked on the text message as his heart started beating rapidly in his chest.

It was just one word long, but it made Wade’s face brighten up and the widest smile stretch on his lips:

 

  **Tony: "Woof"**

 

Wade squealed and giggled as he read the text over and over again, quickly saving the number as _Fido_ and fidgeting on his bed, trying to come up with some witty response. Wait. Should he answer right away or should he make Tony wait before replying? Should he reply at all? The Alpha _did_ take four months to send him a goddamned text so, why should Wade waggle his tail and come running to him like a clingy puppy?

Wade bit his lip as he pondered what he should do, hugging the phone to his chest. As the minutes passed, he was still unsure whether to reply or not so he decided he would just give himself some more time and closed the text and finish the game he had been playing right before he received the message. At least he would finish the chapter he was in while he thought of a good reply.

After he finished the whole story, he closed the game and opened the next one. And then he read one or five self-insert fanfics before his phone buzzed again and he was snapped back to reality. This time it was a nursery-rhyme he recognised as Weasel’s. He clicked the text open and read the whole series of texts.

 

**Weasel: Please answer Tony**

**Weasel: He's moping and i can't take it anymore**

**Weasel: Please**

 

Wade blamed his short attention-span for this and quickly opened Tony’s conversation. His fingers hovered over the keyboard, unsure of what to say. Should he apologise for having forgotten about his text? Would it be rude to tell him that?

 

**Tony: “Woof.”**

**Wade: “Hey there.”**

**Wade: “Took you long enough.”**

**Tony: “...”**

**Tony: “I’m sorry.”**

**Tony: “I am not really the dating type…”**

**Tony: “I heard you were asking about me?”**

**Wade: “You never texted me.”**

**Tony: “...”**

**Tony: “Didn’t know what to say.”**

**Wade: “And now you do?”**

**Tony: “No…”**

**Tony: “But I couldn’t stop thinking about you…”**

**Wade: “...”**

**Wade: “I went to the club every weekend.”**

**Wade: “Never saw you.”**

**Tony: “I am a bouncer as a … hobby?”**

**Tony: “I had some contests in the weekends for my actual job.”**

**Tony: “But whenever I worked I didn’t see you, Weas would complain about you looking for me…”**

**Wade: “Oh…”**

**Wade: “Yeah… I really wanted to see you again.”**

**Wade: “I wanted to thank you again for what you did that night.”**

**Wade: “You are unlike any other Alpha I’ve ever met.”**

**Tony: “No need to thank me…”**

**Tony: “Couldn’t let someone as beautiful as yourself get insulted like that…”**

**Wade: “...”**

**Wade: “I can’t tell if you are drunk or just being an asshole.”**

**Tony: “Very Very drunk”**

**Tony: “I haven’t seen the bottom of my glass since the start of my shift…”**

**Tony: “Doesn’t take away that you were damn stunning in that dress.”**

**Wade: “Go home. You are drunk, Fido.”**

**Wade: “And clearly delusional.”**

 

****

Tony groaned when he woke up. His head throbbed and it felt like there was a hammer banging on the inside of his skull, making opening his dry eyes painful to the light that filtered through the staff room’s window. He felt his stomach stir uncomfortably when he moved and tried to sit on the couch and the small room spinned.

It took Tony a couple of minutes of heavy breathing to make the nausea go away but he was able to focus on his surroundings; particularly, a glass of water and two painkillers, his phone and a post-it note sitting on the coffee table in front of him. He recognized the handwriting as Weasel’s so he took the pills and swallowed them while taking small, careful sips of water. His mouth felt awfully dry and his mind was still a little hazy, but he knew better than to gulp it all in one go, so he took things slowly.

 

_You were too drunk to go home last night so I made you crash here._

_Take the painkillers this time._

_Wade got worried when you stopped texting._

_PS: You are welcome, by the way._

 

Tony did not understand what Weasel was talking about. He rubbed his temples and cautiously reached for his cellphone, hissing when the screen light blinded him. It felt like someone was stirring his eyes with a metal spoon. He introduced the numeric password and noticed the WhatsApp icon blinking with unread messages.

 _“Did I text Wade last night?”_ he thought, a strange feeling settled in his stomach as his finger hoovered over the icon, afraid of what he could find. Breathing in deep, he opened the app and clicked on the first chat.

A furious blush crept up his neck and reached the tip of his ears as he read what seemed to be the most embarrassing conversation. Not only had he _actually_ barked Wade up but also called him _beautiful_ . Not that he did not think that, but one thing was to think something and another, whole different, thing was telling that to _that person. And drunk!_

Tony groaned and hid his face in his hands, still holding the phone before remembering Weasel’s last sentence. Weasel would not have dared to…? _“He got me drunk on purpose so I would text Wade?”_ Tony could feel the rage boiling inside his body. He was going to kill the bastard. _“But he got you to do what you've been avoiding for months now…”_ the annoying voice in the back of his mind scornfully retorted.

And still, he found himself rereading Wade’s messages -the last line especially stuck with him-. Wade calling Tony delusional for finding him beautiful. Sure, Wade was not a model, but he had his charms and Tony found himself typing up one more text despite his embarrassment.

“Not delusional.”

 

****

After that, they started talking almost everyday. Sometimes, it was Wade who started the conversation, other times -though fewer- it was Tony.

They never got very personal with what they shared with the other, so they did not know what the other job was or where they lived. They talked about music, about movies, they still fought over which Spice was the best and neither of them was willing to let the other win.

When Wade confessed he was more of a Breaking Benjamin fan, they started exchanging albums they wanted the other one to listen and they would then talk about their impressions. The same happened with movies. Tony liked horror movies while Wade loved musical comedies.

Both of them enjoyed _Stranger Things_ , but Tony made the mistake of mentioning he had never actually watched _Golden Girls_ and Wade almost had a fit and demanded he watched it, otherwise, Tony would find himself receiving audios of Wade singing horribly off-key covers of Tony’s favourite Spice Girls songs. Tony believed Wade.

Once or twice Wade had hinted at having a date, or at least to meet up, the only thing he got from the suggestion was Tony not answering nor texting back for a week, so Wade stopped inviting him altogether.

Tony realised he was acting like an asshole. He was no better than the other Alphas he was used to see at his gym, the ones who would brag about having an Omega for all the benefits of a mate without actually being mated, or remotely in love. Wade was only trying to get closer, something he also wanted. Yet Tony knew he could not, for it would only cause trouble for the both of them. If he saw Wade again it would certainly be impossible for Tony to pull away, because the scent of that Omega… it was addicting.

And Heaven knew Wade deserved better than a damaged Alpha like Tony. Part of him demanded he just cut all ties with the fascinating Omega, before it was too late, but Tony just could not bring himself to lose the little comfort their small talk gave him.

He was such a selfish bastard…

“Tony, you’ve stopped smiling at your phone so much for a week now. Trouble in paradise?”

“Inez, I don’t pay you to care about my love life.”

“No, it comes with being friends.”

“I wasn’t aware of us being such a thing.”

“Cruel, Masters. You’re too cruel.” He huffed, his eyes sliding over the phone one last time before tucking it away again. “And still, I'm gonna give you a valuable piece of advice…”

“That I don't need.”

He really wanted to send a text, but he had been managing to hold back so far, it was for the best.

Inez would never understand, after all, she did not know him well enough to know what all this was about. How could she, miss crazy allure, ever understand what it was like when you did not go the traditional route.

“You are sabotaging your own happiness-” Inez continued, ignoring her boss’ comment “-and that Omega’s, you know? He’s trying really hard to get to you. And you are overall acting like an asshole by leading him on.”

“I am not trying to lead him on, just get to work and call me when my appointment arrives.”

Next to Inez, the kitten stretched herself and clawed at the bed she had been sleeping on. Inez scratched Princess behind her ears while her gaze stayed fixed on the Alpha’s back, wondering how on earth could Tony be so stubborn.

  


****

 

“I really don't think today is the best day for this Zenny...”

“Too bad, I already booked an appointment with their best self-defense instructor, rumor has it he's hot and single.”

Wade would have laughed at Zenny's overly enthusiastic hint dropping, but he didn't really feel much like laughing as he glanced at his silent phone as if hoping a text would magically appear if he stared at it often enough.

The blond Alpha at the register looked up from under her cowboy hat, nodding at them professionally even though she didn't look like a receptionist in the least.

“Are you here to use the open gym, for a private session or for a class training program?”

“My brother has an appointment for a private session with Mr Masters.”

“Aaaaah yeah, I'll call him, Mr Wilson right?”

She leant over the side of her desk, patting the cat that was asleep there before she pretty much hollered.

“YO BOSS YOUR FOUR O'CLOCK IS HERE”

Then she sat back down as if it was the most normal thing in the world and gave him and Zenny a warm smile that didn't reach her eyes, she looked dangerous and it wasn't just cuz she was an alpha.

“You can go to the second training room on the left, he'll be there in a second.”

The room was rather big, it had a floor that was completely composed out of soft cushion like tiles and a bench at the side where he could put his stuff, there were already a couple of bottles of water underneath the bench.

When Wade had taken off his jacket and put down his stuff he could hear the door close as someone clapped their hands together.

“Well then Mr Wilson, shall we g-... Wade?”

They stared at each other in absolute shock for a while before Tony started to move coming up into Wade’s personal space as he inhaled the omega’s scent deeply, closing his eyes as he placed a surprisingly gentle hand on Wade’s cheek before pulling away.

“Well shall we get started…” he fell back in his professional attitude before Wade fully processed what had been going on.

“Wait, what? What are _you_ doing here, Fido?”

“How long are you planning on calling me Fido?” Tony muttered annoyed while pinching the bridge of his nose. “This is my gym.”

“Huh…”

Tony turned to the stereo, where his personal training playlist started pouring through the speakers.

“Do you want to do this session or not...because I can appoint a different trainer if this is too awkward.”

“Nah. If anyone's going to teach me how to fight dirty and go full karate kid on someone, it's gonna be you.”

Tony then set the music  on a medium low volume and started describing what self-defense was and how it varies according to the trainee's necessities.

“Many people, specially Omegas who have seen way too much action movies, think self-defense is a karate kick to the balls or a jab in the eye while it actually means doing everything possible to _avoid_ fighting an attacker. It's about using your brain instead of your fists.. .”

Wade snorted.

“Did I say something funny?” Tony raised an eyebrow and inquired with a stern voice. He did not like being interrupted while explaining, much less being laughed at.

“Yeah. It's ironic that you talk about using your brain while you pretty much punch every Alpha you meet.”

“Excuse me?”

Wade shrugged his shoulders, “I may have heard something from Weasel.”

“I don’t punch _every_ Alpha I meet,” Tony retorted, “just a specific kind of Alpha. Otherwise, I tend to avoid battles that I deem not worthy of fighting…”

Tony tried his best to ignore the Omega’s interruptions and side comments to each and every part of Tony's introductory speech, which had proved to be an odyssey in itself.

“...  And if you have a dog, take them with you when you are walking alone, because no matter the size, they can growl and snarl loud enough to cause the attacker to retreat.”

“Does that mean I get to give you a collar?”

“Only if you wear a muzzle,” said Tony, exasperated.

“Kinky. Me likey.” Wade winked and Tony had to mentally count to a hundred.  His patience had been put to a test Tony was not sure would pass. He wondered how did Wade do it. How could the Omega get under his skin so easily? No one else could.

He shrugged his shoulders and decided it was best to start training.

Tony couldn’t help but wonder if he was in heaven or hell right now, when they had finally gotten to the training part he had needed to correct Wade’s pose a few times, that earthy relaxing scent of the Omega washing over him with every breath he took while guiding the omega through the movements.

He realized that Wade was messing up on purpose at times, observing him for responses when he did, leaning closer to him when he came to correct his pose. Tony had mastered the art of the poker face perfectly. Which was a blessing, because otherwise he’d probably be a blushing, bumbling oaf right now.


	3. The thrill of a fight

There was a thrill in fighting Wade now that he had trained for a couple of months. Not only was Wade strong, swift and flexible, he had made fighting his own.   
Wade did not follow the rules of combats, nor did he obey patterns like other people. Hell, he managed to land hits on Tony from time to time, something not many Alphas could say, let alone omegas.   
“That's enough for today.” He could not help but smile as he pressed a handkerchief to his bloody nose to still the blood flow. At least Tony was confident Wade would be safe even without him around.   
“Awwwww Fido got hurt.”   
Tony smacked Wade on his ass for the remark, making the Omega let out a teasing growl. Tony made the mistake of turning his back to grab one of the water bottles, giving Wade an opening to smack Tony's ass, he knew it seconds before the smack landed that he had made a mistake.   
It took all of Tony's focus not to lash out at Wade then and there and suddenly, a flash of a memory -the look on his mother's face as he had lashed at her- kept him completely still.   
“Tony?” Wade frowned, his voice tinted with worry. “I’m sorry.”   
“I am fine. Common drink some water before you hit the showers.”   
“Join me?”   
Tony looked over his shoulder right on time to see Wade give him a playful wink, but he did not miss the hopeful look in Wade's eyes. His stomach churned at the longing and fear that tore through him, in perfect contrast to each other.

“I have to fill in a training session in ten minutes… sick coach.” For once, Tony was not lying nor making up an excuse. Something he had done way too often to his own liking, but he panicked whenever he thought about showering with Wade. 

He placed a gentle hand on Wade’s cheek for just a moment, his thumb absently rubbing the corner of Wade’s lips as he tried to ignore the wondering on how it would taste to kiss Wade.

Tony dropped his hand and cleared his throat. He practically escaped through the door. His mind swirling with desires and counter arguments against going on with this.

_ Coward. _

For once, he agreed with that voice in the back of his head.

  
  


Wade got out of the shower and promptly changed himself into some jeans and long sleeved, black and red t-shirt as a disappointed sigh escaped his lips. He searched for his headphones and connected them to his phone, choosing a song at random and singing along.

 

_ I hear you breathe so far from me _

_ I feel your touch so close and real _

 

Wade had always thought love was a force that was always with you, always around you, keeping something good going strong within you. And as long as you believed in it strongly enough, a power one could not just reach out and touch, but one that was always there with you in some form or another.

Not that he was in love or anything remotely close. No. Wade's voices were right. Love was not for the likes of him. And much less if the other person involved was someone as amazing and Tony was.

He could not wrap his head about his instructor.

The Alpha’s behaviour towards Wade changed as suddenly as the tides. He knew Tony knew Wade failed some of the exercises on purpose, just to have the Alpha close and catch a whiff of his strong scent, or feel his calloused hands on his scarred, soft ones. Sometimes, Tony would play along Wade's tactics, only to change his mind a few moments later and build his walls back up. Other times, Tony would not even spare a second glance at Wade unless it was necessary, and would reduce physical touch to a minimum. On those occasions, Tony would become cold and distant, falling into their roles as instructor and student and, more often than not, cutting the sessions early and Tony disappearing with the pretext of having other classes to supervise.

Like that same day.

_ “The sacrament of love. The sacrament of warmth is true. The sacrament is you…” _  Wade sang with a deep, raspy voice. His voice was one of the only things that had not really changed after the fire. When he became aware of what had happened to him, he became fearful of the doctors, the staff, the therapists and the uncomfortable rehabilitation procedures. The smell of disinfectant and illness had been unbearable.

Wade and his brother had had to be taught how to have a “normal” life again. But Wade knew nothing would be the same. Ever. The gates to what was considered a normal life had closed for them the very moment they were admitted at the hospital. 

Wade was so distracted by his thoughts that he could not see the tall figure prowling towards him from the opposite direction of the hallway and crashed into a broad, firm chest. Wade quickly scrambled and tried to regain his balance before hissing a curse.

“Watch where you are goin-” He was interrupted when he felt a hand holding his chin and lifting it upwards, where he found a pair of ice blue eyes staring right back at him and the scent of Old Spice and gunpowder filled Wade’s nose.

“Well, aren't you something?” the Alpha whispered in a somewhat amused tone. “I've been waiting for a long time, Angel.”

“Huh?” Wade blinked. Once. Twice. 

“It was written in the stars that you are to be my mate. That scent of yours and your voice are those of an angel, the one God would send me someday.”

“I don't know who wrote your horoscope today, buddy, but I'm not your lady. Flattery will get you nowhere.” Wade raised a would-be eyebrow and tried to sound confident, but he stammered on the last word and internally bit his tongue.

He tried to slap the other man's hand away. 

The Alpha smirked, as if he were watching a good show, and did not budge. “Then I'll just have to change my technique.”

 

On the other side of the place, Tony was about to enter the training room with a student he was filling the session in for, when he noticed a large Alpha leaning over Wade. A low growl crept up his throat when he recognised the Alpha who had a hand on Wade’s face.

“CABLE!” Tony shouted, clenching and unclenching his fists, his fangs bared. “Stop touching him and either go train or get out.” His instincts were going haywire, urging him to snarl and bite Cable's hand off of Wade.

“What’s the matter Masters?” Cable sneered. “He and I clearly are meant for each other. ”

Tony glanced at him darkly, letting his eyes linger on Wade for a moment before turning to Inez. He mouthed “keep an eye on them” to Inez before Tony reluctantly got into the training room with the young Alpha student.

Going through the exercises with the kid was hardly, if any at all, distraction. Certainly not enough to keep Tony's mind occupied and away from the earlier sight. He knew he had no right to be jealous - not that that was jealousy, anyway-. Cable was not exactly a stable Alpha. He boasted about all his plans to “better the world”, none of them were even remotely successful.

Obsessing over something -or someone- was, sadly, a common trait among Alphas. But Cable took that to a whole new level. When Cable saw something he liked, he would stop at nothing to get it. Once he had achieved his goal, he demanded total control over it and would manipulate it, never caring about anyone else's feelings or wishes.

Tony's instincts had kicked in because he wanted to protect what was  _ his _ . Wait. No. Tony shook his head and scolded himself. Wade was not Tony's property. Wade was his friend,  and nothing more…

A sigh escaped his lips as the little voice in his head told him just how much bullshit he was trying to convince himself of. No matter how hard he tried, Wade always managed to get past his defenses. 

Tony decided to end the session early so he could check on Cable’s behavior. He sent the kid to the showers and marched towards the front desk, where he found Inez eyeing her hidden gun below the desk and mumbling about “making it look like an accident”. Her eyes went from her gun to the workout room. 

“I told Wade to wait for his brother here at the desk to stop Cable from pestering him. Fuck, Tony, can't we just deal with him? I promise no one will miss him,” Inez whispered in her old mercenary voice. 

“You know we need his money,” Tony replied with no conviction. It was true. Cable was one of their best paying clients and they could not afford to lose him… Yet. 

 

****

 

Tony had spend the rest of the day boiling in silent rage, keeping an eye on the security cameras in his office room. He knew he shouldn't be fixating on Cable like this, he had no right to.

The smug bastard however stayed at the gym longer than usual this time, worse he sometimes knowingly smirked at the camera. If Tony would have believed in powers he’d suspect the man was a telepath or something, but of course that kind of stuff was ridiculous. However when the gym started becoming deserted and Cable made no move to leave even when it was closing time he decided it was time to step up, before Inez did it for him.  

Tony cornered the much larger Cable away from the few remaining people lingering during clean up time, his golden brown eyes dark and aggressive as they stared into the smug blue. Tony honestly wished he could simply rip the man’s head off.

“Stay away from Wade, messiah,” he growled.

There was so much venom in his normally calm and monotone voice that Tony barely recognised it as his own. It seemed to throw Cable off for a few seconds to, but the Alpha only managed to look even more smug afterwards.

“Or what Masters?” Cable teased. “You going to beat me up?”

“Wade is  _ mine _ .” Tony hissed, his fangs long and pointy. “Besides, I recall you already found your angel.” 

His calm tone was back, his eyes still dark with rage boiling inside of him. There was no way Tony would let Cable hurt Wade the way he had hurt his previous “angel”, Domino. 

“That little Delilah was not my true angel,” Cable defended himself with a petulant, snobbish tone. 

“I don’t care. Stay the hell away from him,” he warned. 

Before Cable could reply Tony walked of, passing Inez, who had a victorious looking smirk on her face. Clearly she had heard what he had said. His eyes locked with hers in silent understanding that if Cable hurt Wade they would handle it, their old way.

 

****

 

“Tony, open up,” Matt’s voice was muffled behind the wooden door of Tony's office. “You wouldn't let a blind guy waiting under the rain, would you?”

“It's not raining, Murdock. Much less inside my gym.”

“You are still making me wait outside.”

Tony groaned as he got up, closing his files and tucking them away out of habit, realizing after doing it that there was no need to do so around Matt. Yet he still checked to make sure they were hidden before unlocking his office door and opening it. 

“Fine, come in, you here on lawyer work or casual visit?” he asked calmly, finding himself glancing up at the ceiling to check for a water leak, realising right away Matt was messing around with him  _ again _ . 

“It depends on the answers you give me.” Tony raised an eyebrow but said nothing as he moved behind his desk to prepare some coffee. “The lobby reeks of you and Cable and rumours fly fast.”

Tony stared at his cup of coffee he had been preparing as he felt heat rise in his chest hearing about Cable, thinking about the obsession the man had with his ma-, Wade. 

“There it is again. So, do you want to have this conversation with me as your lawyer or as a friend?”

“There's nothing to talk about. I was just standing up for Wade.”

“You know it's illegal to lie to your lawyer, right?”

“You know you can go fuck yourself, right?” Tony muttered as he placed a cup of steaming black coffee in front of Matt. “Wade's… just a friend. And I'm  _ not _ letting Cable hurt him the way he did to Domino.”

“I'm not questioning your motives. I just want to know if you are going to do things the not-illegal way,” Matt replied as he carefully grabbed his mug and smiled after the first sip, realising Tony had prepared it the way Matt liked.

“What makes you think I’d do anything illegal?” Tony kept his voice even before drinking down his entire cup of coffee filling it up again from the thermos without a second thought. His focus completely on Matt as well as his emotions.

“Because I may be blind, but I can recognise a murdering scent when I smell it. You are jealous.”

Tony nearly shattered his cup with his tight grasp around his cup at the word jealous, putting the cup down a little too hard as he struggled to find the words he would use. “Not jealous, I have nothing to be jealous about, Wade ignores him like air and I don’t …” 

“You know you can be honest with me, because I know when you are lying.”

Tony grumbled annoyed at the remark, releasing the cup shaking his hands lose before rubbing his temples slightly. Why again did he stop to help this blind lawyer when moving back into New York? Tony kept asking himself. 

“Are you this annoying to your husband, too?”

“Yeah.” Matt grinned smugly. 

As much as Tony wanted to shake Matt in the hope of making him less annoying, he knew for a fact that wouldn’t work and it wouldn’t make him any different from the people he tended to vent his anger on, like the abusive ex who he hoped no one would ever link to him. He had no patience for abusive, aggressive, obsessive peo- 

He remembered that night. Tony always remembered. 

 

_ He sat at the bar calmly, gesturing Weasel for another drink as he leant back, watching the brunette nearby dance seductively, eyeing him every now and again. Her green eyes piercing him as he drank more of his beer.  _

_ “Who’s that, Weas?” he curiously asked the manager he had befriended months ago when he moved back to New York. His eyes trailing her movements, there was something cheeky about the way she moved. _

_ “That’s Sandi, she dances for a living.” the deadpan manner he said it told him he didn’t exactly mean normal dancing, but Tony honestly didn’t care about people’s choice in living, everyone lived their life like they wanted.  _

_ “Well let's see if she will dance with me...” _

_ “Really? She tends to knee people in the crotch… she’s not a calm omega…”  _

_ “I have always loved a challenge Weasel.” Tony gave him an arrogant smirk for a moment, before he walked over to the flirty omega. Sandi turned to him the moment she noticed and gave him a once over inhaling his strong scent calmly while he let her soft feminine scent wash over him, she smelled of wild flowers to him. _

_ “You’re the famous Tony, he?” she gave him a smug smile when she noticed him being thrown slightly off by it but he recovered quickly. Scanning the crowd around them as was his habit noticing an Alpha at the side of the floor glaring at him menacingly. _

_ “Baldy your pimp or your ex?” he watched her follow his gaze in a shocked manner, pushing herself against his body right away to his surprise. As he heard in a less confident manner than before, almost sounding differently, “Abusive ex…”  _

_ “Well Sandi, will you allow me to be your company for the night?” he requested in a confident manner, wrapping his arms around her tiny body, picking her up without much effort. He could feel her tense for a moment, prepare to attack and flee, but she calmed as he sat on the club’s couch with her on his lap.  _

_ “I’ll keep you safe, don’t worry.” he gave her a soft smile as he stroked her hair as he watched the club, feeling her get of his lap when she calmed down again, dancing in front of him with the same confident manner that had drawn his attention the first time.  _

_ “Can I dance with you gorgeous?” he said charmingly getting up as he towered over her, dancing with her fluidly, never leaving her alone until her night out was over and even then he kept her company till she got in the cab, before he walked away, deadly aware of the other Alpha stalking him. _

_ When they were in an abandoned street he could hear the pace of his stalker speed up, so he turned to the Alpha storming at him. In a swift motion he shoved the man in the alley besides the street harshly, his eyes getting a red shine to them as he bared his teeth in anger at the man. Cracking his knuckles as he easily moved his head out of the way from a punch the other Alpha threw at him as he just backed him further and further into the end of the dead end alley.  _

_ Tony had yet to throw a single punch by the time the man had been blocked several times in his punches before he managed to hit Tony once with a punch in the gut that would probably have made Tony move if he hadn’t been filled with this ice cold rage. _

_ “You like hitting women and omegas don’t you?” his words were a low growl as he watched the man try to figure out how he could beat him or escape, since he realized Tony had cornered him gradually.  _

_ “That’s none of your damn business asshole, that’s my girl you were touching!”  _

_ “How about I show you what she would have felt like with you.” the snarled words had barely left Tony as he shot forward, throwing bone crunching punch after punch, normally Weasel would throw a bucket of water over him to chill him if this had happened in the club, but there was no one here with them.  _

_ It was the man’s begging that snapped him out of his fury and straighten himself calmly, his knuckles bloody, only with the other’s blood. The man simply whimpered while begging for mercy until Tony had turned and took a few steps to walk away. _

_ “I’ll kill that bitch for this.”  _

_ There was a swift movement from Tony’s side, a squeak before a faint crack, the sound of a sewer lid being lifted before there was a single set of footsteps leaving the alley, a dark shadow over the Alpha’s features as he walked back home…  _

 

“-nap out of it, Tony.” Matt’s concerned voice brought him back to his office, behind his desk and facing his worried friend.

“Sorry, I got lost in thought,” Tony apologised, scratching the back of his neck.

“Yeah, I noticed. It's been awhile since the last time it happened. Are you okay?”

He didn’t answer that question right away, opting instead to finish an other cup of coffee in a very slow manner as he mauled the question over. His chest was tight and his gut hurt, he hated his mind, his memories and it was easier when he didn’t try and live like an actual person.

“I am fine, don’t worry, just… an unpleasant memory.” 

Matt nodded, having a strong idea of what Tony was talking about. “So what are you going to do about your crush?”

Tony flipped Matt off knowing all too well Matt knew exactly what he was doing.

 

“Okay, that's enough for today.” Tony clapped his hands and stretched his sore arms. Wade was truly a worthy opponent. Tony couldn’t help but look at Wade with pride, eight months of thorough training had paid off so much. 

His phone started buzzing and he got out of the training room to answer the call after excusing himself. Talking in a soft tone in what sounded like Japanese as he made his way to his private office, leaving Wade alone with his stuff.

Wade stretched his muscles the way Tony had taught him before gathering his bag and heading to the showers. He thanked the gym had hot water, because the day had been “cold as a penguin's butt”.

Tony was leaning against the wall of the dressing room when Wade came out of the shower, watching him with a soft smile on his face he rarely showed.

“We really need to have a talk about you creeping up on me, Fido,” Wade commented, amused. After the incident with the other Alpha, Cable, Tony had been orbiting around Wade whenever Tony was not busy teaching. Tony claimed it was for Wade's safety, but the Omega knew that was the most superficial reason.

Or at least he hoped so. 

“Why? Don’t you like having me around?”

“Like a good, obedient guardian puppy, Fido. You deserve a treat.” Wade reached his hand and patted Tony's soft brown hair, albeit somewhat insecurely. He was still not used to having Tony make such questions from time to time and was not sure how to react. 

Tony’s expression went from shocked to amused in seconds before going back to his usual poker face. His arms wrapping around Wade’s body since he was so close. “You really should keep an eye on your stance at all times, you’re unbalanced.”

“Good thing you are always looking at me so you can notice it,” Wade murmured, his cheeks slightly pink.  _ From the shower. This is the result of the hot water and  _ not  _ my hot and confusing instructor, _ he thought. “I… Zenny must be waiting for me. See ya!” Wade untangled himself from the Alpha and practically bolted through the door, ignoring Cable’s calling for him. 

Tony waited till Wade was gone for a bit before taking out the scarf he had picked from between Wade’s coat. It was an alpaca wool, dark blue scarf with white dots, as if it resembled a starry night. It felt nice to the touch. Tony looked around before taking the soft piece of clothing to his nose and breathing in the owner’s scent. Tony thought it smelled like the forest soil after a heavy rain. 

He then got inside the showers and quickly washed the sweat away. He had no more classes scheduled for the day so he was good to go home. He would cook some warm meal and would most likely suffocate to death because Princess would sleep on the side of his head and her fluffy tail would end up over his nose. Again. 

Tony was putting his winter coat on. He found himself rubbing the scarf as he glanced at the door that led back to the gym, an idea bubbling up in his mind.  _ “Am I really that petty?” _ Tony recalled the rage he felt the time Cable had held Wade’s face in his hand and concluded that yes, he really was  _ that _ petty. So he draped the scarf around his neck in an elegant manner, inhaling the scent deeply before he walked back out into the gym.

“This is a new level of ‘Fuck you’ right here, Masters,” Inez purred, a wide grin on her lips as she looked at her boss. 

“I don't know what you are talking about, Inez,” Tony smirked as he casually walked in front of one of the fans and reached for Princess's travelling bag. “How's my precious baby?” He scratched the cat behind her ears before gently placing her inside the bag. 

Tony closed it and started walking towards the door when he felt a hand clasping his shoulder. He all but snarled at the feeling of being grasped from behind like that, twisting towards Cable.

“Don’t touch me or I’ll make you lose that arm.”

“You smell like my Angel.”

“He’s not yours Cable, he’s  _ mine _ ,” Tony stated in his deep, Alpha voice. 

“He's supposed to be  _ my _ mate. Such is God's will.”

“And yet, I'm the one wearing Wade's scarf and having his scent around me.” Tony couldn’t help but bare his teeth a little when he finished speaking, his eyes resting on the larger Cable without any fear of what a battle could mean. “You’re delusional, Cable. If you think you can save the world or that there is any god out there that gives a shit about you.” 

“Wade has already confessed his feelings for me, Masters.” Cable was fuming. Tony stopped dead in his tracks. “He spoke softly and said how I was warmth and love. He was never yours. That scarf belongs around  _ my _ neck.”

Tony turned around almost in slow motion at that, his eyes nearly completely black as the rage flooded him he however stopped dead in his tracks before attacking Cable when he felt a white cane press against his chest. His bubble of rage deflated completely as his eyes slid to his friend that came with the cane on his chest.

“Hey, Tony. I caught wind of a new restaurant near my place and since Foggy is going to be late and practically kicked me out of the office, we could grab a bite, what do you think?”

“Ah, hi Matt… yeah… dinner sounds nice. Cable, you are banned from this gym, you hear me?” Before Tony had even finished speaking Matt had practically dragged Tony out of the gym and inside a cab after Inez took Princess’ carry bag from Tony’s grip.

  
  


“Did the last deposit come through okay? I know you haven’t been having many paying clients lately…” Tony muttered deciding that to distract himself with business would be a good course of action till the last of the rush of hormones died down.

“Why, are you offering to pay for dinner or are you planning to hire me? I don’t make friend discounts.”

“I know you don’t, I however do support people who help others get second chances…” 

“I know, with the interests you get from the investments. You told me about it and the firm appreciates it. Really.”

“I have a business deal coming up soon with a sport goods company from Europe trying to launch their products here, think you can draft the paperwork with Foggy?”  

Matt grinned and shook his head, “Sure thing. Send me everything tomorrow and Foggy will call you on Monday.” The waitress came with the menus, one of them in Braille, and they proceeded to order their food. Matt chose the black pasta while Tony asked for a steak dish with an extra salad, ordering them a bottle of wine before Matt could object.

Once their plates arrived, they ate in silence for a few minutes.

"Okay, well… how's that water feeling?"

"Excuse me?"

"The Nile warm this time of year?"

“Hillarious Murdock…”

“But -only this one time- I agree with Inez. What you did today was petty and childish and I’m both proud  _ and _ concerned about it.”

Tony rolled his eyes at that, but didn't respond to it in any other way, opting to simply eat the last bits of his meal as Matt observed him in his usual eerie manner.

“This pissing contest between you and Cable has lasted way too long. It was endearing at first, watching you get jealous and being completely oblivious, but both you and Cable are becoming more aggressive towards each other and I’m afraid it will not end well. Neither for you  _ or _ Wade. He talks about you a lot when you are not around.”

“You know I can’t risk it Matt, I am not mate material, but I won’t let some asshole hurt him.”

“So you will overall deny him of meeting someone else by deliberately getting his hopes up and giving him the idea that you two will end up together?”

“I… am not stopping him from meeting others…” he frowned deeply at that, thinking about the times he spend with Wade, the many Alpha’s he had dead glared away from Wade. Okay, maybe Matt was onto something there, but it wasn’t like he did it on purpose.

“What did I tell you about lying to your lawyer, Masters? Remember the time I commented about this Alpha I knew and how she seemed interested in Wade and you almost had a fit?”

“I did no such thing.” the last bit of steak was suffering quite a bit underneath his cutlery. How could a blind man see so much damn it. “I don’t want to lose him, what if he finds out I am… whatever I am.”

“The word you are looking for is “asexual”. And what if he finds out and just accepts it? It’s not a deal-breaker if neither of you don’t want it to be. He already knows you are an asshole but that never stopped him from wanting to be close to you. The way you are acting will only make both of you suffer.”

“I wish there was a manual for this kind of stuff, I used to think it didn’t matter… until Sandi.”

“There are plenty of assholes in the world and you can’t avoid meeting them. You just were unlucky enough to date one of them. You are not broken, Tony. Don’t let her words rule your life and condemn your happiness.”

“It’s not just her words Matt, there is too much in my past, people around me get hurt and I am usually doing the hurting, I don’t want that for Wade, but I am a selfish man.”

“You can’t avoid this forever. One day you  _ will _ have to choose.”


End file.
